jakanddaxterfandomcom-20200223-history
Tess
Ottsel |gender = Female |voice actor = Britton A. Arey }} Tess is a character featured in Jak II and Jak 3, with cameo appearances in Daxter and Jak X: Combat Racing. Introduced as an Underground agent tasked with spying on the crimelord Krew, she would gradually become Daxter's primary love interest, despite being a human herself. Subsequently, Tess designed weapons for the Freedom League during the war in Haven City, while also serving as interim manager of the Naughty Ottsel in Daxter's absence. Tess was ultimately transformed into an ottsel, like Daxter, by the Ottsel Leader, which she appeared to embrace. While all known Precursors are ottsels, it is unknown whether Tess is a Precursor herself simply by virtue of being an ottsel. History ''Jak II'' Tess was introduced early on in Jak II, when Jak and Daxter approached the Underground Hideout in search of Torn. She did not speak during this encounter, instead coming across as cold and suspicious, in unity with Torn's approach to newcomers as well. Tess would eventually be sent by Torn to spy on Krew, who despite exchanging intelligence with the Underground was evidently withholding certain secrets. Tess would not be seen again until later in the game, when Daxter recognized her while she was working undercover as a bartender in Krew's establishment, the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon. This time she was much more affable to the duo, presumably due to their membership with the Underground, even coming across as flirtatious with Daxter at times. Despite this, Tess was careful not to blow her cover, and acted very distrusting of Krew. At some point, Tess was arrested by the Krimzon Guard and imprisoned at the fortress, along with the young and old Samos Hagais. For the latter, the imprisonment followed Torn's coerced betrayal of the group after they had found the Tomb of Mar, though Tess was not at the tomb. Whether Torn revealed Tess' role as a spy or her arrest was unrelated is unknown. Jak and Daxter ultimately rescued the group, after which Tess embraced Daxter as her "little hero". Near the end of the game, Tess informed Jak and Daxter of a mysterious artifact that Krew had stashed in the Metal Head Mash machine, noting that he seemed distressed while doing so. The artifact turned out to be the time map, which Keira needed for the rift rider; Tess promised to take the artifact to Keira while Jak and Daxter rescued Sig, who she said was sent by Krew to the Underport. Tess was lastly seen at the end of the game after Jak and Daxter had killed Kor. Daxter had taken ownership of the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon and rebranded it as the Naughty Ottsel, mounting Kor's head in the back of the room, which Tess admired. After Jak II At some point after Jak II, Daxter recounted the story of how he rescued Jak from prison, narrating the events of Daxter, a prequel to Jak II. This occurred at the Naughty Ottsel, in the company of Tess, Jak, Keira, Samos, Osmo, Ximon, and Taryn, during the epilogue. This is the only time Tess was seen in this game. Shortly before Jak 3, Daxter left Haven City to accompany Jak during his banishment to the Wasteland. Tess filled in as interim manager of the Naughty Ottsel in Daxter's absence, though it was eventually taken over by Torn, who needed to use it as a provisional headquarters for the war. To help with the war effort, Tess began developing high-grade weapons and running the gun course. Tess also assisted Keira in the development of the new JET-Board, building into it the jet repulsor weapon. ''Jak 3'' Tess was not seen in Jak 3 until later in the game, after Jak and Daxter had returned to the city. The duo visited the gun course as Tess was putting the finishing touches on the Gyro Burster, a Morph Gun upgrade, though Tess refused to give it to Jak until he proved he could protect Daxter by completing "Beat gun course 1". Tess appeared again after finishing the Plasmite RPG, at which point she offered Jak to go through a new gun course she had programmed to simulate new enemy tactics (namely, targets would now shoot at Jak), in the mission "Beat gun course 2". Tess and Daxter's public display of affection mildly annoyed Jak, with Tess expressing that the city was "too dangerous", and that they need their "own little place in the country", with "a little ottsel run on the side of the house" for Daxter. At the end of the game, the Precursor Ottsel Leader granted Daxter his wish for pants. After Tess remarked that she wished she had a pair "just like that", the Leader remarked "Be careful what you wish for" as he transformed her into an ottsel. Daxter reassured her that she would get used to it, and that she "may want to shave some parts"—regardless, Tess seemed to embrace her new form. As Tess and Daxter went in to kiss, Jak interrupted them, just as Daxter had done to Jak and Keira twice before. ''Jak X: Combat Racing'' Tess was mysteriously absent from Jak X: Combat Racing, and not only didn't accompany Daxter to Kras City for the reading of Krew's will, but also was not seen in Haven City. However, she makes a cameo appearance in the form of a purchasable cutscene from the Secrets Shop named "Hot Coffee", wherein she and Daxter share a beverage at the Naughty Ottsel. Characteristics Appearance Tess is an ottsel, a slender, anthropomorphic hybrid between the otter and weasel. While she's quite a bit taller than Daxter, she is thinner and overall one of the smaller ottsels seen in the ''Jak and Daxter'' series. Like all ottsels, she has a round head, tall rabbit-like ears, a stubby nose, and a large, round mouth. She has orange fur with yellow striping patterns and feet, and a yellow underbelly (from around her muzzle to beneath her tail). As a human, Tess was of average height, with a slim yet taut build, fair skin, and long, pointy ears, typical of all humans. In both forms, she has light blonde hair, blue eyes, and wears a green, low-cut jacket, with its sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and its hem cut off at her midriff. She wears short denim shorts, held up by a brown belt, exposing parts of her underwear at the hips. Accessory-wise, Tess wears blue, fingerless gloves, a small red scarf around her neck (similar to Jak's), and a purple headband. Tess' overt sex appeal as a human was often referenced, described as "buxom" with the occasional in-game allusion made to her bust size or rear. Personality Superficially, Tess has a carefree, eccentric personality, coming across as bubbly and being one of the few people gullible enough to believe, or at least indulge in, Daxter's tall tales. However, Tess can also come across as intimidating when met with new, untrustworthy faces, or when it comes to Daxter, of whom she is fiercely protective, even towards Jak. Tess is described as one of the Underground's most valuable and courageous members, assisting Torn in the way of undercover work and intelligence-gathering. Later, she helped by building high-grade weapons and maintaining a training gauntlet for soldiers while working with the Freedom League. Tess takes to weapons development as a hobby, according to herself, but appears to be more deeply passionate and knowledgeable about the subject than she lets on. Tess is infatuated with Daxter, seeing him as stronger and braver than he really is, which Daxter encourages. When the two are together, Tess is often seen stroking Daxter's back or belly in admiration, or embraces him, which Daxter sometimes tries to downplay to maintain his cool reputation. Behind the scenes Tess is portrayed by Britton A. Arey, credited as Britton A. Hill, M.D. in ''Jak II, and Britton A. Arey, M.D., in Jak 3. It is unknown whether there is any relation to the series' writer, Dan Arey, though Tess' out-of-character dialogue in the ''Jak 3'' model viewer secret talks about how she "totally loves the writer on this project", that he's "hot, too", and that she "should have dated him more" to get a bigger part in the game. In the scene "Tess Gets Tough", the Gyro Burster model that Tess carries is about seventy percent smaller than the one Jak uses in-game, as otherwise it would look "absurdly huge, which is only funny when Daxter holds it", according to a Naughty Dog animator, who also noted that the scene has "chicks with guns, which everybody likes." Writer Dan Arey explained that they had been dancing around the problem they had with Daxter and Tess' interspecies relationship, and that Tess' transformation into an ottsel at the end of Jak 3 finally allowed Daxter to "get his little girlfriend". The Last of Us, a game also developed by Naughty Dog, features a character named Tess which seems to be a reference to Jak and Daxter's Tess, among many other references to the series. Notes ; Annotations ; Citations References * * * * Category:Characters in Daxter Category:Characters in Jak II Category:Characters in Jak 3 Category:Characters in Jak X: Combat Racing Category:Underground Category:Freedom League